Senate Defeats Effort to Approve Keystone XL

This afternoon the Senate narrowly defeated an amendment to the transportation bill by Senator Hoeven (R-ND) that would have undercut the President’s decision-making authority on the Keystone XL pipeline and moved the project forward. The Senate lacked the three-fifths majority needed to approve the measure.

Concerned citizens and green businesses have spoken out against the pipeline, defeating Big Oil…for the moment.

Today’s vote was a resounding “No!” to:

Dirty fossil fuel

Oil spills

Damage to human health

Environmental dangers

Exacerbation of climate change

False job creation claims

False energy security claims

Of course, we’ve got a long road ahead of us. TransCanada is planning to proceed with a portion of the pipeline (from TX to OK) and to re-apply for a permit for the section crossing between Canada and the US. There are plenty of challenges ahead – but today’s Senate vote positions us for further success.